Ex-NBA Star Doesn’t Hold Back on WNBA Accountability: ‘Truth Hurt’

Oct 01, 2026 at 10:54 PM EDT

Seemingly everyone is throwing out their opinion on WNBA players showing emotion, and now a former NBA player, known for a bloody player vs. fans showdown, has entered the chat.

ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith called out Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson after Tuesday night’s confrontation with a fan during Game 2 of the WNBA Playoffs against the Indiana Fever, which has prompted a slew of other basketball personalities to toss out their own thoughts.

Including former Indiana Pacers guard Stephen Jackson, who said in a video that women commentators in the WNBA have to start singling out actions like Wilson’s.

“I’m sure ready to see when these announcers, WNBA announcers, gonna start holding these women accountable,” Jackson said. “See, one thing about Stephen A. (Smith) – I don’t agree with him, but he always held us accountable when we did something wrong, he spoke on it, he held us accountable.”

Wilson got into a heated exchange with a fan sitting near the court after getting tangled up with Fever guard Sophie Cunningham. The four-time league MVP pointed and yelled at the fan before teammates and officials stepped in. The following day, Smith called Wilson’s outburst an "overreaction" on ESPN's “First Take”.

“When you tangle with another player, a fan standing up and pointing at you is not a crime,” Smith said. “He’s a fan of the opposing team. What do you mean he was walking toward you, approaching you?”

On Thursday, the WNBA decided not to discipline Wilson for the exchange, ESPN reported.

“He gave us our flowers but when we did something wrong, he held us accountable, right?” Jackson continued in the video. “Why can’t these women announcers (hold) these WNBA players accountable when they do something? That was foul. Like, everything can’t be correct. Y’all want to be treated like NBA players but y’all don’t want to be accountable like NBA players. It don’t work like that.”

Jackson played for several teams over his 14 years in the league during 2000-2014. However, he’s famous for the 2004 “The Malice at the Palace” incident where Pacers players and fans brawled in the stands at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Indiana. He was suspended for 30 games and put on probation for his role in the famous fight.

“Even the women announcers, that never even played in the NBA, some of them never even played basketball, but they quick to jump on an NBA player when we do something wrong or say something foul or do something in the media, y’all quick to jump on them.

“It goes both ways right? Equality, right?”